The Secrets of Glastonbury - Part 3

 

As I drove along the rural roads into Glastonbury, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bad Moon Rising pumping out of my speakers I was met with the Hunter’s Moon, looming large over the Tor, burning through the Avalonian mists – a good omen (I hoped) for the nocturnal adventure to come.

Credit:SJP

This final part of my exploration would be a ghost walk provided by Extours, who promised an immersive blend of history and the supernatural through the hidden tales of the legendary town, with the opportunity to engage in a genuine paranormal investigation. It wasn’t long before I was parked at St Dunstan’s car park (which was free) and checked in with our guide for the evening, Fi (Fiona, but she always felt that she was in trouble when addressed as such).

Our first stop, after a brief introduction and firing up the Chattergeist Touch, was opposite St Margarets Chapel, Magdalene Street. Fi explained that in the 1750’s Glastonbury attempted to profit from the miraculous waters that flowed from the many wells and springs at this end of the town. The result was a pump house, built at this location, which is said to be frequented by shadowy figures and ominous feelings.

The Touch, in response to Fi stating that this venture was not successful, returned Why, Homegirl and as if in response to this simple question Fi simply stated that Bath was just more popular.

Credit:SJP

Recalling negative feelings is a common phenomenon of this area as there are reports of the residual feeling of sadness associated with a room at St. Margaret's Chapel, or more specifically the alms-house. The story goes that there was a woman who gave birth in an upper room. This mother knew that there were those that wanted her child dead and so kept the birth and her location a secret. Tragically she was discovered one fateful night when a group of men broke down the door and wrenching the baby from her grasp never to feel the embrace of the mother again. The loss and grief permeated the very fabric of the building and was so long lasting and pervasive it required an exorcism to prevent the affect on all who entered.

The tales of those who lived and died within the hospice appear to have been lost to time or local memory, as I can find no corroboration of this story, which appears to be a theme of the record keeping of Glastonbury’s past.

There are further reports of apparitions of monks (another theme of the town) around this location – but that is not surprising with such close proximity to the Abbey and its tumultuous history.

The next station on our tour was Abbey Park. I imagine it to be a nice open green space in daylight, but the darkness emphasised by the shadows of the ancient and gnarled trees provided the right atmosphere for a spot of investigation. As we processed past a couple of locals conducting their own séance with bottled spirits we gathered round as Fi introduced us to Peter.

Peter, a misogynistic and aggressive personality, got off on the wrong foot with Fi when she initially found him, but over time he had warmed to her, and the groups she bought to him. Not much is known about who Peter was in life, but in death he has demonstrated a mastery of foul language and a penchant for physical aggression – especially towards women.

Breaking out her bag of tricks, Fi was soon handing out EMF detectors and dowsing rods to those who wanted to experiment, whilst her phone was running a Necrophone app and the Touch was silently scanning in my pocket.

As the group became accustomed to the tools of the trade, we started to call out – asking if any spirits were present to come and talk to us. Reports of flashing lights coming from the EMF meters were soon reported, with a mixture of excitement and trepidation – was Peter now with us? I asked if those with flashing lights had turned their phones off or put them in flight mode and to a soundtrack of rummaging in pockets and bags the confirmations trickled in.

Had we established contact? Haunts appeared on the Touch’s screen. The electronic voice from the Necrophone indicated to Fi that Peter was with us and he wanted to play. Forming a circle, I asked if Peter could cross any of the rods to show his presence. ‘Crossed’ came the reply to my left. “Peter can you uncross this set of rods if you would like to communicate with us?” to which the distinctive sounds of metal scraping on metal were heard as the tips separated. ‘Charles’ said the Necrophone – “My rods have crossed” came from in front of me. And soon we established Peter on the rods to my left, Charles to the front of me and a female on the rods to my right. (The name was produced by the Necrophone but I was not able to write it down.)

Like a conductor of a very small orchestra, we established that Peter was, or believed himself, to be titled (or at least of somewhat importance) and that he was accused of some crime by this female with the assistance of Charles. Peter would not divulge the nature of his offence only that he was absolutely innocent of the falsehoods created about him, and he loathed the female for what she had done to him. The Touch adding some assistance providing Corrode, Sneered, Marquis, Egotism. But as with my research of the social history of Glastonbury I could find no documentation of accusations made against Marquis Peter or any links to Charles.

Credit:SJP

Suicide prompted the Touch as we arrived at the junction of Hill Head and Butleigh Road, Fi told us what was discovered in the un-consecrated ground below our feet when they were developing this junction – staked corpses. My research corroborated this account as I found a document published in 1904 written by The Late J.G.L Bulleid (6 x mayor of Glastonbury and founder of the Glastonbury Antiquarian Society) which recorded that when they excavated a road through Culver Close they discovered the remains of suicide victims, each with a stake driven through them.

Such was the custom of burial after a self-induced demise, considered a sin and fearing their evil spirits would return, the superstitious believed that staking the corpse would tether the spirit to the ground, preventing them from leaving, with the cross roads acting as an insurance policy - if the spirt was able to leave they would be confused due to the many option of which direction to take. 

As we walked along the A361 towards the Chalice Well, I had the opportunity to talk about my paranormal experiences with Fi and the techniques that I had used. The Touch lit up Desperation, Divination, as I was talking about my first try using a scrying mirror at the Alex (see Ghostly Encounter(s)) and the feeling of bombardment. Crops, Rye appeared as she imparted that there was an inquisitive female spirit that would often join the tour along this section of the route and she hoped that we may be graced with her presence this evening – Glastonbury was a big Rye producer so maybe she did.

We stopped on Chikwell Street at the junction with Dod Lane. Research of Dod Lane shows one of the reasons for its name was that Lydia Dod lived here – but I can find no record of who she was or who she was related to. Other origins of the name are linked to the prosaic meaning of a quagmire or dirty lane but more likely Dod comes from the word Dead due to the frequent procession of undertakers, hearses and coffins that ran along this road to their final destinations. Chikwell Street was also the route the pilgrims took leaving a lasting legacy as their phantom processions re-tread the road – leaving a feeling of joy and elation with all who witness them.

The are several accounts of spectres on Dod Lane, Richard Whiting (the last Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey who met his fate hanged, drawn and quartered on the Tor) has been sighted here, and he may be the same headless spirit that has been witnessed at twilight sat on the gate at the end of the lane.

Hoping again for something more positive from the Ghost Tube SLS app, I fired it up and scanned along the road. As you can see in the below image a headless stick man, albeit over 8 foot tall, was witnessed floating above the pavement. In an effort to debunk I checked for any key vertical points but this green figure was distinctively between the two gate posts so unlikely to have been produced by an erroneous reading. 

Credit:SJP

The tour continued along Silver Street, where several of the guests were reporting fluctuations on the EMF detectors. The fluctuations appeared to be near to large manhole covers so were more likely detecting electricity (or errant mobile signals) than something from the beyond. One of the younger guests reported following his signals which appeared to direct him away from the group and up a very dark driveway between two houses – being a sensible young chap he decided against submerging himself in the pitch black, and instead returned to the group excited with his discovery.

Credit:SJP

At the end of Silver Street is a gate (that leads to the grounds of the Abbey) juxtaposed with a masonic hall. Here I thought I would try the Touch’s ‘Onvoy’ mode. The Onvoy (by Ghost Stop) is a unique device that is designed to be simple for spirits to interact with. It produces letters, yes/no answers, numbers or emojis through scanning through set lists and allowing sensors to be manipulated by the unseen to enable communication. The Touch (having an 8-Ball and an emoji mode as well) in its ‘Onvoy’ Mode produces a grid of syllables, derived from environmental data, presented in two different colours in a grid pattern. The idea is to derive the communication by working out the relationship between the syllables.

Credit:SJP

As you can see from the image the meaning is not necessarily as clear as using the library mode. Fi informed us that there have been reports of a young male who was stabbed close to this location – whether this person had died here had not been identified and our brief investigation gained no further information, even with the use of the rods.

Cutting through an alleyway we entered High Street and stopped outside the Assembly Rooms, opposite the Tribunal. It is here where 6 unnamed members of Monmouth’s rebellion were publicly hanged from the sign of the White Hart pub. Sightings of the ghosts of these unknown rebels have been reported, suspended in their final moments. Fi explained that her investigations may have uncovered that there were at least 7 renegades executed for their crimes here, Trees from the Chattergeist (along with further research) suggests that after the Bloody Assizes (overseen by the Hanging Judge, George Jeffreys at the Tribunal) the road was lined by corpses of the traitorous, swinging from the trees that lined the road from Glastonbury to Bridgewater.  

Credit:SJP

Tabina, Ascends caused the Touch to illuminate which could link to an interesting article of a now returned stone mascot called Jack Stagg which once adorned the Market Cross, which is now stored within the museums collection at the Tribunal. Maybe someone wants Mr Stagg returned to his rightful place above the town.

The next words to appear Illusive, Labourer, could have a link to a story from the 1960’s. The Tribunal’s gas pipes were in need of a change and as such a representative of the local gas board and his mate were dispatched to assess the tunnels where they would be laid. He lit a lamp and descended below the ground to start his survey. He noticed there was someone ahead of him carrying a lamp lit by a candle, thinking it was his mate, he called out and received no response.  Waving his lamp, his subterranean friend copied the movement until the light began to dim and the figure disappeared into the gloom. When he found his mate, who hadn’t ventured into the tunnels at all, he discovered that the end of the tunnel had been sealed off – so he should have been alone.

As we bimbled down the High Street, in a style very unlike King James II’s phantom army whose echoes reportedly cause the ground to shake, we arrived outside The George and Pilgrim Public house. This pub, made paranormally famous by Guy Lyon Playfair’s ‘The Haunted Pub Guide’, was built in the 15^th century to accommodate the wealthy pilgrims that came to Glastonbury. 

Credit:SJP

The accounts from this hostelry cover the full gamete of paranormal activity from smells, sounds and apparitions. Reports of monks, the smell of cigar smoke, monks, a man in historical dress walking through the bar, monks, disembodied footsteps in corridors, monks, the sound of a violent argument in the bar, monks, flashing lights, monks, banging noises and more monks. One tale takes us back to the tunnels, which were used as a covert passage between the inn and the Abbey, before piped gas.

The silence of the hotel is broken by the sound of creaking, the ancient timbers settling or footsteps along the well-trodden passages? A spectral monk followed by an elegant looking lady with a look of longing admiration on her pale, emaciated face is seen. A vow of celibacy divides this unconsummated love; desire and frustration trapping these lovelorn spirits earthbound to spend eternity wandering the corridors unfulfilled.   

The Touch, resolutely scanning produced no insight (a vow of silence perhaps?) – but the George has been added to my wish list of places to investigate.

We passed the market cross and possible site (according to Bulleid) where a large horse-pool was filled in after the near drowning by ducking of Rebecca Brook a notorious scold and otherwise a woman of bad fame, as the Chattergeist lit up. I read out Coronavirus, Deathbed, Resurrect, Death, Possible as one of the group members with better local knowledge than me pointed to the building behind us telling me that it was a nursing home. A more recent addition to the spirits of Glastonbury, perhaps, wanting their story told.

Credit:SJP

We walked around the traffic island on which sits St Benedict’s Church until stopping in St Benedict’s Close. This was not the original name for this road (also the church was not originally called St Benedict’s rather St Benignus’). Renaming appears to be a theme in this part of town as where I was now stood was originally called Gropecunt Lane – because this is where the local prostitutes plied their trade, emphasised with the word Tits showing on the Touch’s screen.

There are accounts here of the spirit of a man being seen on the Church roof, where in life he was stood before he put gravity to the fatal test. This maybe a confusion with fate of John Bullhead, who unable to fulfil his role as guarantor for an ill fate canal project, jumped from the tower of St Johns Church leaving only his mangled remains. Taking a burst of a few photographs I discovered nothing supernatural occurring in this quiet corner of town, however using the Ghost Vision SLS app I captured a giant figure, which may have been a misreading of the architecture than the presence of the departed.

Credit:SJP

And depart we did, completing our circle of Glastonbury.  But what did I learn from this experience, firstly that the combination of ghost walk and investigation is a brilliant idea (especially as due to what we were experiencing it increased the length of the tour by 30 minutes). That Fi is a brilliant guide, and shares my experiences of the paranormal investigator’s hangover. Thirdly that Glastonbury is really bad at publishing its history, which could (puts tin foil hat on) lead to a conspiracy theory of a church run cover up - they don’t want you to know the truth.

And lastly its really difficult to take photographs when you are walking.

Credit:SJP

I am an affiliate of Dimension Devices, the creator of Chattergeist Touch. My reviews are my own and unbiased opinion. I will receive a percentage from sales through my affiliate link https://dimensiondevices.co.uk/shop.php?affiliate=sjp

Secrets of Glastonbury - Part 2

Previously on Secrets of Glastonbury, Mrs J (the mountain goat that she is) and I ascended the Tor, drank from the Chalice Well and added to my ghost hunting arsenal with the acquisition of a pendulum. But the spirits do not seem to be interested in conversing, with the sum total of bugger all coming through my equipment.

It was time to regroup and refresh and finding the local eatery My Fine Deli on the high street, I refuelled with a ploughman’s platter so large, filling and amazing that it would have justified an afternoon nap. After the last crumbs of cheese had been consumed, leaving only smears of pickle and chutney as testament to my conquest, we were off to our third site of the day – Glastonbury Abbey.

Credit: SJP

Rumoured to have been built on the site of a church constructed during a third visit of Joseph of Arimathea, the now ruins of the once great abbey are one of the key tourist destinations Glastonbury has to offer. The earliest evidence of there being a place of worship on the site comes from 700 years after the death of Joe’s nephew, with Roman and Saxon activity being excavated from below the foundations of the existing structures. Further invasion of our fair isle saw the Normans arrive in 1066 and the change of management led to the brutal death of many Saxon monks. Change being as good as a rest, the monastery flourished until 1184 when a fire destroyed much of the building resulting in a charity drive to fund repairs.

Henry II, being a charitable bloke, coughed up a significant amount of the repair bill – until he coughed his last leaving the monks high and dry and financially cut off. Coincidentally 2 years after their main benefactor fell off his perch, the monks amazingly discovered the body of King Arthur and his (second) wife buried under the floorboards. One creative advertising campaign later, the newly discovered bones become a draw for pilgrims (and their heavy coin purses) travelling from Wales to Canterbury. By 19th April 1278, the Abbey was complete and in a ceremony fit for a (departed) King, Arthur’s remains were removed under the watchful gaze of Edward I and reinterred in a black marble topped tomb elsewhere on the site – forever to be lost due to Henry VIII’s destiny to have a male heir (and his fondness for wedding cake).

Credit: SJP

The death of last abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Richard Whiting, echoed the fate of the Abbey. As he was found guilty of robbery (the fictitious treason charge being changed at the last minute after the riches of the abbey could not be located) he was dragged to the Tor, hanged and dismembered. The Abbey was promptly pillaged of all valuables, its very fabric dismantled, removed and repurposed – leaving only what now remains for visitors to see.

It is on this note that we re-introduce Frederic Bligh-Bond into the story.

As mentioned in part 1, Bligh-Bond designed and gifted the Chalice Well cover, but this was not his only legacy in Glastonbury’s history. In 1899 Fred expressed a belief that the design of the Abbey formed some sort of messianic code and was soon writing papers like a Victorian Dan Brown. His theories came to the attention of The Bishop of Bath and Wells (who may or may not have eaten babies) who installed Bligh-Bond as their director of excavations. The team that were employed in the uncovering of a series of small walls were not your average archaeologists with beards, large hats and small paintbrushes, all pursued by Tony Robinson and the cameras. In fact, the advisory team that Bligh-Bond used were significantly more transparent and very much dead.

Termed Psychic Archaeology, Bligh-Bond, through medium John Alleyne (to his friends Captain John Bartlett), claimed to have made contact with dead monks through automatic writing. They provided him with information and instructions on where to excavate.

Paranormal assistance in the study of the past is not just restricted to the Abbey excavation. Karen Hunt employed the use of dowsing rods to detect electromagnetic photo-fields in Point Crook, Australia. Augustus Le Plongeon used séance, occult practices and meditation in his investigation of the Mayan site of Chichen Itza, Mexico. Mediums have also been employed in digs searching for the truths about Alexandria, the Pyramids, The Sphinx and Atlantis.

Sceptics state that rather than anything mystical or paranormal, the knowledge of period architecture, site history and cultural norms are the reasons for the ‘psychic’ archaeologist’s discoveries. And of course the other classic sceptic response- that ghosts don’t exist, let alone have the abilities of a phantom time team. The Church of England soon discovered Bligh-Bond’s use of ethereal employees in 1921 and sacked him, partly because they disapproved of spiritualism, but mostly because he was a bit weird.

Bligh-Bond however did rediscover the nature, location and size of a number of buildings lost to the past – whether this was through old fashioned research, by just being a bit lucky or through receipt of spectral assistance, we will never know. But taking inspiration from Frederick’s spiritualist practice I fired up the Chattergeist and turned on my EMF detector in the hope that some of the deceased clergy would take an interest and want to communicate with me.

Credit: SJP

Standing at the brown plaque detailing the location of where King Arthur was originally discovered, I let the small black puck scan the surroundings. Result: nothing, which was unsurprising as the sign told me that Arthur had been moved on several hundred years ago so why would he still be hanging around an old hole in the ground?

With the screen resolutely devoid of words I took a stroll across the well-tended lawns in the direction the Abbot’s kitchen. Suddenly the screen lit up with Irk, Irrational, Struck; reminiscent of the negative undertones received when I started using the Touch at Stonehenge. Finally something promising from Glastonbury.

As I crossed the threshold of the Kitchen, Albertson, Effort, Bronchiectasi and Tabernacle flashed on the screen. Having a search around Albertson linked to the location I could find no link to anyone by that name at the location, however a lung condition would lead to effort in breathing and a Catholic Church having a Tabernacle would make sense. This could just be clutching at straws or at least making the puzzle pieces fit by cutting off the jigs and the jags.

Credit: SJP

As I sat on a bench at one of the long tables that show visitors how the kitchen would have been set up when it was operational, my attention was drawn from the flashing screen of the Touch. Expecting some sort of canine at the end of the lead the only other visitor the kitchen was holding I was distracted by the tiny form of a cat, having the time of one of its nine lives, rolling around a large stone bowl. Breaking every known social convention, I entered into a conversation with the feline’s owner and discovered that this mill stone was this cat’s favourite, that it enjoyed going for walks and sightseeing (but I was met with disapproval from Mrs J when I recounted my tale as I did not find out the cat’s name).

The conversation becoming a dialogue I explained what my electronic pets were and that I was looking for ghosts. The woman, possibly breaking into some quiet prayer, tightened her grip on the cat’s lead and backed away slowly. Bemused by her reaction and realising that the adage ‘if you cant see the maddest person in a room – then its you’ might be correct after all, I left the kitchen and tried to locate Mrs J.

Credit: SJP

Outside the kitchen is a fenced of ruin with a heavy metal gate, which I later learnt was called a Galilee. The Galilee was used as a turnstile for pilgrims to wait their turn before filing through to the main event to pay the devotions. Whilst I did my best meercat impression to locate my missing wife, the EMF detector flashed to mid-range several times. This could signify a spectral presence but was more likely caused by an electrical cable that ran the lighting in the kitchen. I discounted it and resorting to more modern-day communication, flipping my phone off airplane mode and making a call. Stowing my gear into my many pockets and following the instructions provided, I located Mrs J sat in the basement of the Abbot’s Hall.

After my attempts to try out some SLS apps at Eastgate House were proved fruitless due to lack of suitable light, I took advantage of the well-lit environment to test them out. The apps that I had downloaded were GhostTube SLS and Ghost vision by Jada Soft. To the uninitiated SLS stands for Structured Light Sensor and was given birth by Microsoft as the key human interface part of the Kinect for the Xbox games consol.

In simple terms the Kinect camera generates an invisible grid that would detect a human form and, depending on the game, will let the player control an avatar, control a raft down river rapids or cut fruit through moving your body and swinging your arms around. The interesting thing discovered by players (especially those playing on their own) was that randomly, and with no logical explanation, the game would register that player 2 had entered the game. The theory began that the Kinect could pick up spirit, and so portable devices were developed and sold as an investigative tool. SLS cameras retail for a lot of money – but are meant to show the image of a spirit represented as a stickman on a tablet screen.

So how would these apps, reliant on the iPhone camera, compare? Trying both apps in the same location, they appeared to identify the visible human figures meandering around the hall, producing the expected stickman overlay. The Ghost Vision app seemed intent in producing stick figures from the horizontal lines of the buttresses in the stonework leading me to believe that the basis of this app was to produce something from nothing rather than spirit detection.

The GhostTube app performed in a similar manner but did produce an interesting stickperson figure as you can see from the photo below.

Credit: Mrs J

Still unsure of the validity of these apps – and whether their ‘for entertainment purposes only’ status is more apt, I resolved to further test them when I had access to an actual SLS device and draw comparison from there.

Feeling a little disappointed with the ‘evidence’ I had obtained during my daytime investigations, but very grateful for the opportunity to investigate such a legendary set of locations, it was time to return to our rented cottage before I would return to Glastonbury for a night time ghost walk and investigation with Extours – stay tuned for my nocturnal experience coming up in the third and final part of the Secrets of Glastonbury.

Secrets of Glastonbury – Part 1

Glastonbury, nestled in the Somerset countryside is many things to many people. A walk along the high street shows an abundance of esoteric shops for all your divination and spell craft needs. But why here? When other high streets are the regular pattern of charity and vape shops, Glastonbury has remained the go to destination for the mystical and occult.

Credit Mrs J

Rumoured to be the gateway to a faerie realm, the home of the lord of the Celtic underworld, holiday destination of Jesus of Nazareth, a key ley-line station and the final resting place of the legendary King Arthur, Glastonbury has it all. Hasn’t it? Well now it has me, a paranormal investigator, and Mrs J on her research quest to find the Knights of the Round Table.

Glastonbury not only has a lot of myths and legends, it also has a lot of hills. The most famous of which is the Tor (our first destination of the trip). Parking the car at a nearby leather business (that appeared to specialise in fleece lined slippers) with a whole day flat rate of £5, we set off to find the path that would lead us on a 158 meter climb to the summit.

The first gate – the one that Trip Advisor recommended – had a notice from National Trust directing us further up the steep Wellhouse Lane as access to the path would be restricted due to them building a new gate. Entrance found we were soon traipsing across a field. We located the work crew – resplendent in the hi-vis jackets building a gate at the only access point to the Tor path on this side of the hill (and accessible from the first gate we encountered!!)

The mountain goat that is my wife suitably pushed up the muddy slope and on hard standing we were off – until Mrs J stopped for a drink at the first strategically placed bench. The tour of the Tor’s benches was interspersed by further stopping for obligatory photographs as the view of the Avalon Marshes opened up beneath us giving me an appreciation of how these hills would have been islands, as over the millennia the sea receded into lakes to create the landscape we see today.

Hours later (or so it felt with all the pit stops) we arrived at the summit, home to the 3-story sandstone St Michael’s Tower the only remaining part of the church that once stood here.

The Tor, according to Arthurian legend is said to have been the home of the Corbenic’s – the keepers of the Holy Grail - as well as the site of one of the many other castles that Guinevere was taken to during her many kidnappings (she would have given Princess Peach a run for her money).

Credit Mrs J

Celtic tradition holds this mystical hill as being the place where the natural energies of the earth meet with the supernatural power of death, which could be further explained through the theories of ley-lines – the web of invisible energy creating a cosmic highway connecting key landmarks around the world.

So with all this ancient and magical energy in abundance I found a convenient perch within the tower and fired up the Chattergeist Touch. The Touch works by detecting various energies and changes of energy in its surroundings to produce readings, be they words, 8-ball answers or with the latest update emoticons (apparently these are now called emojis).

I was surrounded by wheezing tourists trying to catch their breath after the climb), mobile phones spewing out electromagnetic frequencies and a lone woman deep in meditation overlooking the Mendips, with her wellington boots neatly stood next to her. The amount of energy, old and new, would surely provide some response on the screen in the palm of my hand.

Scanning...

The screen flashed with the welcoming image and Dimension Devices logo, a tap and was informed the device was calibrating (I generally have my Touch set to a sensitivity of 19). Tap, Menu - open library (on continuous mode) to be met with a display showing ‘Scanning,’ and now I wait. I notice the odd sideways glances from my fellow visitors, far too British to engage in conversation but still wanting to know what I was doing. 5 minutes and the screen dimmed (a nice energy saving function) – still scanning. After 15 minutes of the same message, my backside beginning to get cold from sitting on a stone bench I had received no response. Zip, Nada, Zilch.

A major sceptical criticism of paranormal communication devices such as the Ovilus, Necrophone app or, the previously used, Ghost Hunting Tools app is that they are either programmed to provide results – often with ominous words or phrases such as Killed or Get Out; or that they use the peripherals of the device such as search history or microphone to pick up on key phrases and provide an AI based reply that might fit the question.

But to get absolutely nothing from my device that was so active at Stonehenge in this place shrouded in so much mysterious energy and bombarded with the invisible messages, phone calls and updates of modern-day communication is probably more interesting than receiving thousands of meaningless words. Does this mean that there was actually nothing that wanted to communicate with me? Does it mean that the coding of the Touch is such that it provides only reliable information? Or does it simply mean that there was so much energy the Touch simply could not or would not respond to being so overloaded?

It's definitely food for thought for future investigations.

Spot the pigeon

Reuniting with Mrs J – who had equally not found the Grail or any evidence of the Knights at this altitude – we began our descent. The return journey always seems to be quicker, probably assisted by gravity (and that we were not stopping at every bench on the way back down.) We passed the workers, who were squabbling over the amount of water required for a bag of concrete and left via gate 1.

We crossed over the road to our second destination – the Chalice Well.

Entering the gate to the gardens (phone in airplane mode) I was transported from the hustle and noise of the deceptively busy corner of town to a place of tranquillity, calm and peace. Feeling that this location was not one to be probing with my arsenal of spectral detectors I instead chose to simply feel.

My starting point was the star attraction, the Chalice Well itself and so a short walk through the autumnal gardens I found myself looking down through a grate, its decorative lid open to a pool of water. The water, which I expected to be a ferrous red, was clear – as it is otherwise known as The Blood Well and rumoured to be infused by the blood of Jesus Christ or at least tinged from the iron of his crucifixion nails – which was disconcerting but not surprising as this well has never dried up and has continued to flow at a consistent rate and temperature (13,650 litres a day at 11°C if you are interested) since time immemorial so any additions would have definitely flowed through over the past 2000 years.

Thank you Wikipedia as I forgot to take a photo

The wells lid, decorated with two overlapping circles or vesica piscis - representing a portal between two worlds, was designed by Frederick Bligh-Bond (more on this character in part 2) and presented as a gift in 1919. The bisecting line represents Excalibur with the foliage representing the Glastonbury Thorn. The Christian connection continues with this spiky plant as we introduce Joseph of Arimathea into the Chalice Well’s story.

Joseph was apparently a frequent visitor to Glastonbury, if the stories are true, as it was him sticking his staff in the ground that caused the Thorn to sprout during one of his visits. This miracle was only

the start of his influence in the area as on a second visit he decided to bring a cup with him. This cup being the famous vessel used during the Last Supper – The Holy Grail. Depending on the account you wish to believe either Joe travelled all the way from Jerusalem to do the washing up or it was in this very garden where he grabbed a spade and buried it.

Credit Mrs J

Following the flow of water, I cupped my hands (the well is BYOG – Bring Your Own Grail) under the mouth of the Lion’s Head Fountain to sample some of the healing waters, tasting the iron richness I was not immediately taken by its healing properties. Maybe, like expecting to see ghosts in haunted houses, it is the expectation of miraculous benefit that makes you feel better?

As the water flowed into the seven bowls and the garden opened out into a large green space I realised how much was to offer in this place. I saw other visitors in states of meditation, relaxation and bonding with nature (I think that was what the man embracing the tree was doing anyway.) The water from the lion having an urge to remain saw me heading to the convenient facilities within which they were advertising their Samhain programme of bonfires, ritual and thanksgiving.

Credit Mrs J

Relieved, relaxed and feeling pretty refreshed it was time to leave, but not before a good look in the gift shop (placed as all good attraction should – next to the exit). Amongst the crystals, books and bottles of well water I did discover my holy grail. Since the pendulum experiments with P.I.G.S way back at Tonbridge Castle I had been looking for a metal pendulum (preferably copper). Ones that I had found just weren’t right, but here I found a gold-plated copper one that Goldilocks would have been proud of.

Having expanded my ghost hunting equipment and finding Mrs J (looking at books about Arthur – she had already got them) we set off, phones back on, into the heart of Glastonbury to continue our quest – and get some lunch.

Coming up in part 2 – Glastonbury Abbey, Structured Light Sensors and Cats on Leads.

Touch Stones

Having often driven (read been stuck in traffic) along the A303 in Wiltshire I have always been struck by the sight of the collection of standing stones that adorn the landscape that we know as Stonehenge.

Stonehenge

Why these monolithic blocks of Sarsen and Bluestone were placed where they are and what were they used for have been the fundamental question for thousands of years. So armed with my English Heritage membership card and my Chattergeist Touch I thought I would add my two-penneth to the debate.

Stonehenge and the Chattergeist Touch

So what do we already know? The earliest known construction at the site was the excavation of a 100 meter in diameter circular ditch in around 3000BC. As we learn from the story of the Three Little Pigs the first building material was straw (which probably blew away as the wind picks up over the large expanse of flat open grassland), the second was wood, and this is what was believed to have been used to fill the 56 Aubrey Holes forming some form of ‘Woodhenge’. This site is believed to have been the local crematorium with evidence of 64 cremations and an estimate of 150 bodies being buried, making this Wiltshire field the largest late Neolithic cemetery in Britain.

Fast forward 500 years to 2500BC where wood was replaced with stone and Stonehenge as we know it today started to take shape. The placing of the stones was refined and altered over the next couple of hundred years until whoever was in charge of their construction was finally happy.

The Stones

The Bluestones’ origins have been traced to Pembrokeshire, Wales with the Sarsen stones being a composition of local sandstone. The likelihood is that the stones were transported using sledges, rollers and brute strength but there is something about Stonehenge that demands a little more magic and mystery than such a pedestrian reason.

Galfridus Arturus or more commonly known (and easily spelt) - Geoffrey of Monmouth - documented Stonehenge’s creation in his Historia Regum Britanniae in 1136.

In his account Geoff takes the reader back to the reign of Aurelius Ambrosius, who having been recently anointed as King of Britain seeks his brother’s advice to create a lasting memorial to the British princes assassinated by the Saxons during a period of truce. The King’s brother, Uther Pendragon (As played by Anthony Stewart Head in BBC's Merlin) suggests going to see the local wizard/wise man/interferer who recommends a field trip to the Killaraus Mountain in Ireland and to bring back the Giant’s Dance. Aurelius happy that the local stones would be alright, was soon packing his bags and setting off with Uther, Merlin and 15,000 men to relocate a stone circle from Ireland.

The stones were marked by Merlin (so he could put them back together again) and after some special magic words were made light enough that they could be carried by a few good men back to a field and reassembled to stand for all time in memorial of the treacherously slain.

Over the years many theories have been put forward as to why Stonehenge was built; monument, druidic temple, calendar, sundial, burial ground. And at points in its existence, it has probably served with all of these functions. But what of the theories I can throw in my humble expertise as a paranormal investigator.

Firing up the Chattergeist Touch I let it run in continuous library mode and was quickly provided Accost, Hush. Closely followed by Phobia, Courtesy, Starving and Instigated. The start was pretty negative in my opinion and so I decided to tread lightly just letting the device run and absorbing the mystical atmosphere of my surroundings.

As I continued to walk around the stone the screen flashed with Coffins, Denounced, Rioted and Neglecting. These could have come from the known use as a burial and cremation site and subsequent change of uses, and that no one comes for those that have passed anymore, only for the wonder of the great circle of monoliths.

The next words made me laugh, Moustache and Wax as standing close by me was a tourist wearing some fantastic nose furniture. I know that with any paranormal communication device you read into the results what you can, but I felt this could not be that much of a coincidence as it really was a fantastic moustache.

One of the many, many , many rooks

As debate between myself and Mrs J continued (are those birds crows or rooks?) – causing us to seek professional advice from our friendly bird doctor (turns out they were rooks) – the amount of large black corvids continue to grow. As I walked to the other side of the stones I was greeted with Blast, Objective, Eczema, followed by Dealing, Hacking, Repressed, Alter, then Sixteen, Bonfire, Hay. The assortment of words appeared to be random but when looked at together could be seen as aggressive and violent. Looking at the use of the word Bonfire, there is no evidence of sacrificial or punitive burning at the site but there could be a correlation between this word and the means of cremation 3000 years ago. Experts estimate 68 cremations which is much higher than the 16 the Chattergeist suggests.

View from the Heel

After passing the Heel Stone Angriest, Forced, Electricity, Avoiding, Tree appeared. Could this be alluding to the events that befell a small group who decided to set up camp in the middle of the stone circle in August 1971? Described by many sources as a group of hippies, this fateful group pitched their tents, smoked some cannabis and pondered the meaning of life, the universe and everything.

That night a storm rolled in, that according to witnesses (including a local police officer) caused lightning to rain down on the encampment with such force that the stones glowed blue and was so bright that they had to shield their eyes from fear of being blinded by the intensity of the light. This pyrotechnic display from the heavens was set to the soundtrack of the loudest thunder… and the screams of the campers in the middle of it all.

As the storm came to a close, the stones fell into silence – a complete absence of sound. The officer (bracing himself for the likely gruesome discovery of charred body parts) steeled himself and with other witnesses ventured into the stone-ringed camp. They found charred tents, smouldering journals but not a single person (or part of one).

Although this story is likely to have been the product of an overactive imagination (or a reasonable explanation that I wouldn’t want to hang around in the middle of a storm in a tent) the ability of stone circles to entrap lightning and have the ground within them altered by the electricity does have some evidential base. At the site of stone circles on the Isle of Man, the use of geophysics has uncovered at site XI or Airigh na Beinne Bige, a massive star-shaped magnetic anomaly in the centre caused by massive or successive lightning strikes.

The final bursts from the Chattergeist gave me Luckett, Dated, November and then Earthquake, Million, Charlton, Deceiving. Searching for Luckett provided several artists who have photographed the stones and are selling their artworks; as well as interestingly a Tour Company Lucketts of Fareham, whose coaches used to regularly bring in the droves of tourists to the site. A notice on their site now reads that that as of the 1st October 2023 Lucketts Travel will no longer offer package coach trips – so there are no November dates this year.

The reference to Earthquake is interesting, as aside from tracking the movement of celestial bodies, a further theory is that Stonehenge acts as a natural earthquake detector. The stones in their current position are shown to naturally amplify seismic waves so that when an earthquake occurs it causes the stones to vibrate so that by monitoring these vibrations scientists are able to map the size, location and intensity of the quake – which may provide vital lifesaving information.

Unfortunately, my investigation has not solved the mystery of Stonehenge but it clearly retains its draw through its mysterious history, intrigue and stories – over one million visitors a year cannot be wrong? (another interesting link to the Touch’s readings). But what they do provide us with is the opportunity to discover, a chance to marvel on the innovation of our ancestors, a moment to reflect on our spirituality, to connect with the history of Britain and the ability to say “I’ve been there.”

I am an affiliate of Dimension Devices. Although I will receive a percentage of sales made through my affiliate link (https://dimensiondevices.co.uk/shop.php?affiliate=sjp), my reviews and accounts of the Chattergeist Touch are my own honest opinions

Are You Brave Enough?

 

Friday the 13th of the spookiest month of the year is surely a perfect date for ghost hunt. My usual suppliers not having anything available I had to look further afield. Ghost Hunter Tours (GHT) have the tag line Are You Brave Enough? And go all out on the poetic horror in their advertising challenging their guests to “Step into the abyss of terror and confront the restless spirits that haunt the land.”

Having exclusive access to the Medway Council owned 16th century property in High Street, Rochester for 2023, the advert informed me that “the horrors that lie within Eastgate House extend beyond the imagination of even Charles Dickens”. A little research into GHT and their reviews uncovered something that I had not seen before – disgruntled guests.

Reviews are a personal thing and generally if you are happy it will be 4 or 5 stars, which formed the majority of GHT’s Google reviews. However I was surprised to find several 1 star reviews that required closer inspection. One review was that it wasn’t a tour, another that they felt the health and safety briefing was a waste of time and another who accused them of providing false information (this was due to that his supposedly paranormal activity was in fact photographs of bugs and dust). My favourite negative review was a personal swipe at an employee out of frustration that as the customer hadn’t paid in full for a ticket their spot was taken away.

Finding this barrier sufficiently debunked I did have to ask myself the question – does all the hype and spooky language mean a night full of fakery? Only one way to find out… click….book….pay.

Confirmation email received and as the night of Friday 13th rose, I found myself sheltering from the rain in the porch of Eastgate House.

Eastgate House

As the general chat of strangers waiting for the same thing subsided, the front door was opened. On stepping over the threshold and walking through the branded stationary adorning the shop we were directed upstairs where were told to sign in and remember our team number. This shouldn’t have been too difficult a task, as it was either 1 or 2 but after the short, light-hearted safety briefing there were still some who forgot (and some who claimed they knew even though they hadn’t written on the sheet). The key points made in the briefing (aside from don’t hurt yourself) was to join in and what you experience is what you experience our guides would not be faking – as what would be the point in that.

Any concerns that I may have had were gone – it was time to hunt.

The first experiment was a Séance, and as we filed downstairs and into our first room, out came the equipment. The now expected Rem-Pods, K2 Meters and cat balls were deployed with a brief introduction and over view. A Maglite torch was placed on the table in the middle of the room, and by the door a motion activated light that was originally designed to assist men with their nocturnal aim in answering a call of nature. (I am pleased someone else had a similar idea for this additional use as I also have a toilet light in my equipment bag – although maybe obtaining it second hand from a charity shop did rightly attract the piss taking from Mrs J – pun intended.)

Taking the opportunity to introduce the Chattergeist Touch into the mix, I set it up and left it to run in Dictionary Mode, with the intention of a later review to see if any of the words it produced had any correlation to my experience.

As the room went lights out, the group started to call out. Across the room from me a male guest reported that he was feeling cold on his back and arms. Although no mains lighting was on in the room, there was some light from the streetlamps outside coming through the windows, there was also small LED lights from the fire alarm system – as well as the deployed equipment.

Human vision is not the best in low light environments, and my own is not the best in any circumstances hence the requirement for glasses with extra thinned down lenses – as I do not suit the milk bottle look. The human mind – as I have previously looked at – looks to create order out of chaos and will create logical interpretations of shape, light and shadow, which is called pareidolia.

As the report of the cold feeling were being explored; drafts from the windows, cross breeze from the door; area of natural coolness, it appeared to me that a figure was stood behind the slowly freezing man. The figure was taller and a different shape from the person in front and so was unlikely to have been a shadow caused by the affected male. A quick check of the Chattergeist showed several words that blipped to the scanning screen before they could register in my brain.

A change of position of the cold man made no impact on the reports that he was feeling cold to his back and arms – but interestingly the person taking their original position did not have any reports of cooling or of any temperature change at all. Several reports of the feeling of being pushed came from those seated against the wall. With one woman presenting herself in a fully forward position stating she was unable to pull herself back upright.

Outside the Seance Room

I felt a tightening around my wrists, as if rigid bands were secured around them. Not calling it out straight away as I wanted to establish of this was muscular or mental I tried to ignore the sensation. After a few minutes I called it stating that it felt like something was wrapped around my wrists. ‘Like Handcuffs?’ Came the question, I responded ‘Yes, but thicker more like manacles’. The sensation was interesting but has many possible biological reasons before the paranormal could be confirmed. Taking a look at the Chattergeist screen, one word was present – Restraint, leading this encounter to be placed in the very interesting box.

The personal (and uncheckable or verifiable) experiences continued. The report of a child holding the hand of another guest, not wanting to let go, the tugging of another hair and the feeling of something brushing past the face and neck of several others were all presented.

We remained gathered in our circle around the room, as the green LED on the fire detector in the centre of the ceiling began to brighten and dim. Now this could be a result of a power surge or something within the electrical system so I asked out “Spirit, If you are showing what you can do with the light in the ceiling can you light up some of our equipment or copy this?” – I then tapped twice on the table in front of me. As I tapped for the second time the Maglite turned itself on.

The Maglite trick, where a torch with a screw end is set so that a short turn will illuminate the bulb, is one of the more controversial techniques deployed by paranormal investigators. Challenged by Sceptics with arguments of short circuits or heat expansion it is not absolute proof by any stretch of the imagination.

However me tapping the table could have been a cause of making the electrical connection as the light was well illuminated and bright and not the orangey-flickery glow of a barely-on torch. To a chorus of “Well done spirit” the request was made to turn it off, and as if on command the torch went out. In an effort to debunk my interaction as being a cause, I again tapped the table in the same manner and then again – the torch remained off.

The first experiment being over it was time to grab a cup of coffee before splitting up into our teams for the rest of the evenings investigation.

Remembering that I was in group 1 we explored the first floor of Eastgate House. We would be investigating 2 rooms on this floor; a larger space with a big fire place and a table set up for a banquet, and an adjoining wood panelled room with a large glass display cabinet. Setting up some cat balls and K2 Meters in the larger room and deploying a robot in the adjoining room we settled in to get accustomed to the space.  

The robot is a motion activated child’s toy with a sound emulator module. As soon as it was left alone and we started calling out it activated, rolling around the floor and produced what sounded like “I am here.”

With what ever was with us having more interest in the robot than the others gizmos we had in play it was suggested to try an Estes Session. The technique credited to paranormal investigators Connor J Randall, Michelle Tate and Karl Pfeiffer whilst working at the Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado, sees the subject blindfolded and listening to a spirit box through headphone, unable to hear the questions asked and relying on their own hearing to decipher the sounds coming through the box. The original method used a SB7 Spirt Box but tonight we were using a Spirit Box App through a phone.

I fired up the Chattergeist Touch in 8-Ball mode in the larger room as the first sitter put on the blindfold, adorned the headphones and sat down in the adjoining room. As the questions started coming the responses from the sitter and the Chattergiest were corroborating, and were simultaneous. Suddenly the first sitter reported being grabbed and pressure on her head and wanted out, replaced the questions continued until the new sitter reported the same, swap, hair pulled – out.

I found myself handing over the Chattergeist to another member of the team and sitting down in the sitter’s chair. I placed the blind fold on and as soon as the headphones were over my ears I heard “Fuck off! Fuck off! Fuck off!” repeated with urgency and venom. The spirit box scans between either AM or FM radio signals with a fixed sweep rate. The current broadcasting regulation restrict the use of bad language and it is generally accepted that there is a level of manipulation if you are told to do one in the manner that I had been.

Determined to sit the experience out for as long as possible – as I had wanted to experience this technique ever since picking up my first Richard Estep book – I settled in and took the abuse. Words came into my ears and out of my mouth – how they related to the line of questioning by the rest of my team I could not say. I did not experience the pressure in my head, my hair being pulled or any of the other negative experiences of the previous sitters - but the tapping on the headphones was really annoying. It sounded as if fingers were tapping at first on the band of the headphones – tap tap, the same pattern I had used in the séance downstairs. Then across the band – tap tap; the top of the speakers – tap tap; then over both ears at the same time – tap tap.

Feeling that other people had entered the room I thought our time had ended and on lifting the blindfold and looking around – my group were still in the larger room – weird, but could have been something to do with my own sensory deprivation rather than being surrounded by spirits.

Signalling an end to the Estes Session I learned that contact was made with several personalities  -one identified themselves as Peter who was a friend of Charles (Question – Was this Charles Dickens?; Chattergeist – Yes)

Yes

Before a well needed coffee break we conducted a table tipping experiment. Starting in the wooden panelled adjoining room we unfolded the table and placing a finger on it each we asked for some form of movement – we received nothing.

After calling out for a few minutes we cut our losses and set up in the larger room. The result was almost immediate. The sensation of the table vibrating before smoothly and cleanly sliding towards my legs causing me to step back quickly before it came to a complete stop.

Table tipping is subject to the same critique as the use of a spirit board, movement is caused by those with their fingers on the surface. However when we tried to replicate the tables movement it could not be moved without a very obvious force applied by human finger and the smooth motion could not be replicated through direct pressure on the table top as this caused the legs to wobble and the table bounce and judder across the floor.

Feeling quite excited with this result we grabbed a hot drink and prepared to ascend to the attic space for the final experiments of the night.  

Suitably caffeinated my group went upstairs to the attic space. This space was divided into 3 rooms that spanned the width of the building.

In the middle room, set up like a school room, was a cupboard big enough to put a chair and a willing volunteer. The first exiting the room rapidly saying that he wasn’t staying in there any more as he heard banging. The bangs were likely other members of the group as the furthest room had a pathway that led all the way around the cupboard.

Selecting a K2 meter, I took the seat in the cupboard and closed the door. The acoustic qualities within the confined space were interesting and they seemed to both amplify and deaden the sounds from outside in turn. Placing the meter on the floor I asked out for some of the lights to come on and light up the space – receiving no response.

Developing a bit of FOMO I left the cupboard in time for the opening of the Spirit Board. Placing my finger on the planchette we established answers leading to a young boy who, although could not spell his name, signified it began with A and when asked if it was Alfie – the planchette slid to Yes.

A cat ball placed on the floor of the furthest room began illuminating, and exiting the board I pulled out my phone to attempt some video and try out a couple of SLS apps that I had down loaded.

Discovering nothing from the SLS apps – they appeared to track the vertical lines of door and window frames, I focused my attention on the cat ball. As the sitters on the board continued to question Alfie he indicated that he liked playing with the toys when investigators come and so we asked for him to push the ball towards us.

The ball lit up and started to roll towards where I was crouched in the door way.

I volunteered to sit in the furthest room – blindfolded, because why not?

As I sat there I could hear the sitters on the board asking out and identified a possible sister for Alfie – Louisa. As they asked out I heard that the cat ball in front of me had lit up and I suddenly felt the word ‘danger’ and really nauseous. I called out what I felt and this feeling of hostility had been communicated through the board.

We had been introduced to Graham and William – the children were no longer with us.

The sloping floor?

Before we moved to the first room for the final experiments I tried to replicate the rolling of the cat ball I had videoed. I sat facing the door where I had been crouched and recording and expected that on touching the ball it would light up and roll away from me. I touched the ball, which lit up. First hypothesis confirmed. The ball then rolled gathering speed in a straight line to my left before loudly colliding with a piece of furniture. Collecting the ball and trying again resulted in the same direction of movement – to the left.

Therefore movement of cat ball – could be ghost.

Regrouping in the first room alongside a creepy wax work of Charles Dickens we started a human pendulum experiment.

The results of this that we had communication with a male called William who may or may not have done something criminal to harm a child but appeared to be controlled by another male – who did not want to divulge much information – called Graham.

I have experienced the human pendulum previously (see Chill(ingham) Down my Spine) it was interesting to watch again. However the last experiment of the night was one that I had not.

Standing in a circle we joined hands. One of the team called out if any spirit is wanting to communicate then raise the arm of someone here. An arm began to lift in the darkness – now I understand the suggestibility argument but this turned into the most painful experience in my short investigating career.

The gentle movement of arms raising across the circle from me made me concentrate on my own body and thinking of the questions that we had been asking of William and Graham I felt that I was in control of my limbs and was not feeling compelled to move my own arms, my feet were rooted to the floor although my legs were tired from the significant amount of standing that I had been doing throughout the evening.

I heard the request “Are you able to lift more arms or put someone on their knees?” I look around the circle and the raised arms are lowering, wax work Charles Dickens continues to look on and BANG!

The pain in my knees as they hit the hard wooden floor is the first thing I notice. Then the pain in the back of knees as if they have been kicked out and then the pressure on my shoulders as if I am being held there by a significant force. The room goes quiet – I am in a little bit of shock when I hear “Are you ok?”

It feels like I am on the floor for a long time but in reality it is probably a minute at most. Trying to style it out and getting to my feet I offer what I think is a reassuring smile letting my team know that I’m ok.

Maybe I was a little confrontational during the human pendulum, maybe I upset someone or something – all I know is that something put me on my knees and I’m not sure the argument of “it was suggested to put someone on their knees” would lead my body to throw itself down to make a scene.

I reestablished my position in the circle as the questioning continued. The words being spoken not really going in. I notice that my right arm is slowly raising and then stops at a 90 degree angle to my body. My hand is then being forced into a 90 degree bend downwards. I am not the most flexible person as Mrs J will attest to, and the angle my wrist was being held in was both painful and only possible with external pressure being applied – akin to a control and restraint technique.

The team members looked on commenting how unnatural the position of my arm and hand were, and as painful as it was I could not escape from the position.

I was concerned that there was something here that wanted to cause me some form of harm – or at least a show of force – and the circle was closed.

Feeling quite shaken but relieved the rain had stopped as I walked along Rochester High Street – I urged whatever resided at Eastgate House to remain there and telling them in no uncertain terms they had no permission to follow me home.